We set off toward the main group, who remained stationary, and I didn’t need that roiling stink of sulfur in the air to tell me magic was involved. I could feel it in the churning of my gut. My body and wolf were sensitive to magic, and it only grew stronger with each day I spent in the cities. And each alpha I bonded.
Maybe it was a normal part of being in a quintet, and if we all lived through this, I’d ask one of my alphas.No.Not if.Whenwe lived through this, because any other option was unacceptable.
Sliding through the gaps in the crowd, I noticed a few familiar faces including Kellan’s brothers, and Kassidy. My panic spiraled when I spotted children too. If any of those precious little ones got hurt…No.They weren’t after the kids. Everyone here would be okay; I’d make sure of it.
Finley’s growl stole my attention, and I focused on what had drawn his wrath. “Is that fucking Sorenson?” I snapped, familiar orange hair coming into view.
Along with the rest of our pack.
The tiger shifter was an entitled alpha, but he had nothing on even the weakest alpha of the Reeves pack. Yet here he stood, holding all of them in stasis.
Including Slade, who was the only one bound by a shimmering silver rope, wrapped from his throat down to his ankles. As he struggled, burn marks shone on his skin under the bindings. Whatever was in those ropes was both painful and debilitating.
As my gaze ran across my pack, I finally understood why I’d gotten a sense of discomfort but not injury through my bonds. They were being held, and fighting the spell, but except for Slade, none of them looked injured.
Sorenson, who’d been pacing back and forth and ranting at Hunter, took a few seconds to notice we were here. At his growl, Finley took off at a speed no normal bear could achieve, and the tiger shifter turned quick enough to flick a small glass vial at the bear’s feet. When it cracked, a spell rose and coated Finley’s fur.
In his bear form, he held some resistance to the magic, which slowed him, but he managed to make it a few more feet to slam against Sorenson, knocking them both down.
Sorenson cursed, and his expression turned thunderous. From where I stood, he didn’t look well, with haggard features and dark rings under his eyes. He was weakened too, trying to shove the bear off, but not moving him at all.
His fury blasted in a surge of heat as he shouted, “You’re going to die, Finley.”
Finley remained limp, and the irony was that it was Sorenson’s spell holding him as a dead weight on top of the tiger shifter.
Sorenson continued to shout. “The witch will be back in seconds, once she’s obtained her leverage. I just need you to givethemto me, or they’ll kill my whole pack!”
He roared and wiggled, but the giant bear was too heavy.
Meanwhile, I was fighting the sort of rage I’d never experienced before. How. Fucking. Dare this piece of shit put my entire pack in danger again to protect his weak bitch of a mate. Stepping into the open, I strode right over and booted him in the side of the head.
“You have two seconds to tell me what you want,” I snarled, “or I’m shifting and ripping your throat out.”
His expression didn’t calm, but he stopped struggling as he stared up at me. “You,” he finally choked out. “You’re the one I need. You and the dragon. Alpha Fletcher has Chelsea and the rest of our pack in his compound, and he’s… experimenting on them. I struck a deal that if I return with you both, he’d let us go. He knows I can get in and out of this city without detection, and decided it was worth it to get you back. I’m sorry, but I had no choice!”
“Who is the witch?” I asked, trying not to let my panic show that one of those evil bitches was somewhere in this city, gettingleverage. “How did she get in undetected?”
His eyes bored into me as his lips curved into a mocking smile. “Yeah, you’ll find out soon enough. I’m not going to be the one to spoil the surprise and get myself killed via magic. I’m just trying to survive. Trying to ensure my pack survives.”
Crouching down near his side, I let my voice lower until the true fury in my soul spilled out. “There’s no surviving for you or your pack,” I whispered, the even-tempered part of my omega essence long gone. Fuck with my pack and I would channel the goddess herself to take you down. “Chelsea signed her death warrant the second she used me to keep herself safe. It’s not my fault she expected the devil she bargained with to honor their deal. There’s no help for her… or for you.”
A scuffing behind us had me turning to see Hunter fighting the magic, his face bright red as his eyes glowed gold. He opened his mouth, and I swore I heard, “Kill him.”
Sorenson confirmed it when he let out a mournful, purring sound. “You can’t mean that, Hunt. We’ve been friends since we were young.”
Hunter’s face only grew darker, and redder, as he fought the hold. I found myself rising and hurrying toward him. When I touched his chest, a sticky residue clung to my hand as the magic coated him like slime. To contain this many powerful alphas took strong magic, and I wondered if we were about to meet one of theseancientTermaine witches?
“Kill him,” Hunter managed to rasp again, louder this time.
Slade’s roar filled the air and he burst free from the ropes binding him. A piece of the magical debris hit me, and I flinched at the burn. Slade had been enduring that pain… Now I really was going to follow Hunter’s command and kill Sorenson.
As the dragon tilted his head back and roared to the sky again, the burns were already healing. With a flash in his glowing green eyes, he strode forward and rolled Finley off Sorenson. He wrapped his hand around the traitor’s throat and lifted him from the ground.
“How dare you threaten us,” Slade thundered, his voice guttural and brimming with his dragon’s rage. “Say your goodbyes, tiger.”
Sorenson couldn’t say anything as his eyes bulged, and with another squeeze of his hand, Slade crushed the shifter’s throat. He didn’t stop there either, lifting his other hand to palm the tiger’s face. With a sickening crack, he ripped Sorenson’s head right off, not letting go until the jerking of the tiger’s limbs ceased.
Feeling satisfied but slightly ill by the graphic death, I faced Hunter, unsure how he’d take the death of his friend once it was too late to go back. He’d told us all that they would die for what they did, but it might have only been his anger talking.
